Featuring Rhana Hashemi and Paul Davis

This week, we’re teaming up with Silenced Science Stories, a volunteer project that shines a light on scientists whose work has been derailed by federal budget cuts and mass firings. In this episode, both of our storytellers share deeply personal accounts of how these political decisions upended their work—and the science itself. Part 1: When an epidemiologist dedicated to preventing violence against children is suddenly fired from the CDC, she is left grappling with both the shock of losing her job and the uncertainty of what comes next. Part 2: At a global climate conference, climate scientist Tom Di Liberto learns that Trump has been re-elected—and feels the weight of what that means for him and the fight against climate change. Tom Di Liberto is a climate scientist and award-winning science communicator working as a public affairs specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Communication (as of March 29. He's been caught up in the government purges and is on administrative leave). As part of NOAA’s Ocean Today’s studio, he wrote and starred in NOAA’s first ever animated series Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth. Previously he served as the senior climate scientist for NOAA’s Climate.gov and social media editor for the NOAAClimate accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In addition to his work at NOAA, Tom also served as the lead of the Department of State’s U.S. Center at the United Nationals climate change conference COP29 in 2024. The U.S. Center is the premiere public face of the U.S. government at the UN Climate conference. As lead, Tom designed every aspect of the center from the build to the schedule to planning every event that took place. He previously served as emcee of the Department of State’s U.S. Center at the United Nations climate change conferences COP21, COP22, COP26, COP27, and COP28 Fun fact: Tom performs regularly at the Washington Improv Theater on two house teams including the Hypothesis, a team Tom started and is full of scientists and science-lovers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Featuring Erik Klemetti and George Kourounis

Featuring Andrew McGill and Will Clegg

Featuring Hannah Hedelius and Rachel Hostetler

Featuring Shawn Musgrave and Molly Astell

Featuring Stephanie Galla and Kim Weaver

This week we present two classic stories from people who had hypotheses.  Part 1: Teaching sixth grade science becomes much more difficult when Xochitl Garcia's students start hypothesizing that fire is alive.  Part 2: When journalist John Rennie is assigned to cover an entomological society event where insects are served as food, he sees an opportunity to face his fear of bugs.  Xochitl Garcia is the K-12 education program manager at Science Friday, where she focuses on supporting the inspiring efforts of educators (of all types) to engage students in science, engineering, math, and the arts. She is a former NYC school teacher, who specializes in sifting through random piles of junk that she insists are "treasures," to figure out cool ways for learners to explore scientific phenomena. You can find her making a mess in the name of science education at the Science Friday office, her house, with other educators...you get the picture. Update: Xochitl welcomed her baby (not fire) into the world on 1/1/2020.  John has worked as a science editor, writer and lecturer for almost 40 years. Most recently, he was a deputy editor at Quanta Magazine. During his time as editor in chief at Scientific American, between 1994 and 2009, the magazine received two National Magazine Awards. He co-created and hosted the 2013 series Hacking the Planet on The Weather Channel. Since 2009, he has been on the faculty of the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program in New York University’s graduate journalism school. You can learn follow him on Bluesky @johnrennie.sky.social or check his website, www.johnrennie.net.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this week’s episode, we’re featuring two powerful stories born from our education program. Part 1: As an undergraduate with no “real” science experience, Molly Magid is thrilled to join a research project studying how bats fly—until she discovers the bats refuse to cooperate. Part 2: As a child, Léa Souccar and her father explore the wreckage in the aftermath of a devastating bombing. Molly Magid is a science communicator and podcast producer. She has been telling stories about science since the first grade, when she wrote a biologically accurate story about ladybugs. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Molly now lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. She enjoys sharing her passion for science anywhere from podcasts to social media to declaring her love of longfin eels on the street. Léa Souccar was born in Lebanon, three years into the war. By the time the fighting stopped, she was twelve. In between, the voice of her storytelling grandmother carried her above the chaos—like a flying carpet—and helped shape who she became. During her first year studying Performing Arts, Beirut hosted its first Storytelling and Monodrama Festival. She skipped classes that week to attend every lecture by day and every performance by night. Something long asleep inside her woke up. From that moment on, she trained relentlessly, learning from renowned storytellers from around the world. After earning a Master’s in Theater Education for Special Needs, she began working as a storyteller and puppeteer, sharing stories in schools, hospitals, refugee camps, and prisons. In 2010, she became a primary school teacher in France. She found her place in a preschool classroom, where she began exploring all the ways oral storytelling can support and inspire learning. Today, she leads workshops where she shares her two greatest passions: storytelling and education—and the sparks that fly when the two meet. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this week’s episode, we explore how creativity, humor, and connection can be powerful tools for mental health and healing. Part 1: When anxiety starts taking over her life, Jude Treder-Wolff signs up for an improv class. Part 2: Counselor Belinda Arriaga and emergency medicine doctor Nancy Ewen join forces to collect scientific evidence of the power of culturally responsive mental health care. Jude Treder-Wolff is a creative arts therapist, writer/performer and trainer with Lifestage, Inc, a company that provides creative personal and professional development workshops and classes. She believes that creativity is a renewable resource that is the energy of change anyone can tap into for healing, change and growth. She hosts (mostly) TRUE THINGS, a game wrapped in a true storytelling show performed once a month in Port Jefferson, NY and brings storytelling workshops to the Sandi Marx Cancer Wellness Program and Seniors Program at the Sid Jacobsen Jewish Community Center and the Alzheimer’s Education and Resource Center on Long Island, the National Association of Social Workers in NYS as well as other social service organizations. She has been featured on many shows around the country, including RISK! live show and podcast, Generation Women, Mortified, Story District in Washington D.C., Ex Fabula in Milwaukee WI and PBS Stories From The Stage. Dr. Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, LCSW, is an educator, advocate, and visionary leader fueled by love and courage. As the Founder and Executive Director of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (ALAS) in Half Moon Bay, she has transformed the farmworker community, infusing it with cultural pride and unyielding hope. Under her leadership, the Coast’s first affordable housing for farmworker elders became a reality, and mental health care for immigrants was reimagined with arts, culture, and community at the center. A beloved mentor and award-winning author of a children’s book on family separation, Belinda championed farmworkers’ needs during the pandemic and led her community’s healing after a mass shooting. From the southern border to the White House, her advocacy has touched countless lives and inspires change rooted in our collective humanity. A passionate educator, Dr. Hernandez-Arriaga teaches at the University of San Francisco, inspiring the next generation of counselors and activists. At ALAS, She has built groundbreaking partnerships with USF and Stanford to lead pioneering research on the power of culturally responsive mental health care. She has helped to publish works like There Is a Monster in My House, Cultura Cura, and Olvidados Entre la Cosecha, which illuminate the emotional experiences of undocumented and mixed-status youth. Belinda has presented ALAS’s findings at major conferences such as the American Psychological Association and the Pediatric Academic Societies, resulting in groundbreaking tools including the first-ever Spanish-language instrument to measure immigration trauma. Dr. Belinda's work has positioned ALAS as a national model for community-driven, mental health programs that champion the belief that La Cultura Cura, that culture cures. Belinda also co-founded the Latino Advisory Council in Half Moon Bay, helped launch the Latino Trauma Institute, and actively collaborates with Bay Area Border Relief. A former San Mateo County District 3 Arts Commissioner and inductee of the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame, Belinda is an active civic leader. She is also a proud mother of three and holds a Doctor of Education from the University of San Francisco. Dr. N Ewen Wang is a Professor Emerita of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics. She was Associate Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine for more than 20 years. Her career has been committed to serving vulnerable populations and decreasing health disparities locally as well as globally. She founded the Stanford section in Social Emergency Medicine, a field which uses the perspective of the Emergency Department (ED) to identify patient social needs which contribute to disease and to develop solutions to decrease these health disparities. As such, she directed the Social Emergency Medicine fellowship and was medical director for a student-run group which screened ED patients for social needs (Stanford Health Advocates and Research in the ED (SHAR(ED)). She has worked clinically and educated trainees and faculty globally, including at sites in Chiapas, Mexico; Borneo Indonesia and Galapagos, Ecuador. Her current research and advocacy includes investigating disparities in specialty care access and quality, including trauma and mental health. Dr. Wang also works with community organizations to understand best models to provide wraparound social and medical services for unaccompanied immigrant children, for which she has received Stanford Impact Labs, Center for Innovation in Global Health and Office of Community Engagement grants. She presently serves as a medical expert with the Juvenile Care Monitoring team for the U.S. Federal Court overseeing the treatment of migrant children in U.S. detention. In 2023, she was appointed as the inaugural Faculty Director of the Health Equity Education MD/Masters Program at the Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Wang completed an Emergency Medicine Residency at Stanford and then a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship between LPCH and Children's Oakland. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this week’s episode, both storytellers face the challenge of evicting some very unwelcome guests. Part 1: While housesitting for her uncle, JiJi Lee’s peaceful stay takes a chaotic turn when a squirrel breaks in. Part 2: When a serious mold infestation takes over the university campus, Joshua Wilson is tasked with eliminating it. JiJi Lee is a comedy writer and performer. She has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Onion. And her work has been published in the McSweeney's humor anthology Keep Scrolling Till You Feel Something.  Joshua Wilson is a Project Manager with over five years of successfully leading complex projects from start to finish. He splits my time between Boise and the Wood River Valley, where he co-founded a business providing skilled labor for high-end custom homes. He’s since managed facilities for Boise State and Northwest Nazarene University, where he championed multiple software integration projects to maximize business operations efficiency. He oversaw project management, capital planning, safety protocols, and team leadership. Now, in his junior year of a Computer Science degree at Boise State, he’s expanding his technical skills and actively seeking opportunities to apply his knowledge in software development, data analysis, and his unique background. Outside of work, he enjoys home improvement and automation projects, traveling, rafting, fishing, hunting, snowboarding, and mountain biking, often with his daughter. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Featuring Katherine Wu and Mary Annaise Heglar

Featuring Rollie Williams and Scott Acton

Featuring Ken Carter and Rob Reich

Featuring David Crabb and Zakiya Whatley

Featuring Bailey Swilley and Christel Bartelse

Featuring LaSahna Lewis and Guizella Rocabado

Featuring Kofi Thomas and Michael Hudgins

Featuring Brandan Mehaffie and Ian Burkhart

Featuring Ro Moran and Karoline Mueller